The Clouds are Parting

“Most teenagers feel invisible. Not the superman kind of invisible but the kind of invisibility that tricks you into believing tomorrow might be a better day to start chasing your dreams.” 

This quote is taken directly from the film “Clouds,” based on a true story, that came out on October 16th of this year. This new film has viewers in tears by the credits and is touching everyone’s hearts. 

“Clouds” is based on the true story of Zach Sobiech (played by Fin Argus), a teenager who suffered from terminal cancer and who became known for his hit song “Clouds,” which was recorded in the final months of his life. The movie starts off with Zach on stage performing the song “I’m sexy and I know it” to his classmates, showing the audience that despite Zach battling chemo he still tried to have fun. The actors and director Justin Baldoni (of “Five Feet Apart” fame) make it clear that Zach was definitely a cheerful and popular guy at school, and always looked for the best in everything. At this point in the film, Zach is almost done with his chemo. He’ll plan for college, get his hair back, and maybe even ask out dancer Amy Adamie (Madison Iseman). And that’s exactly what he does. 

When the day of the date finally arrives though, Zach starts coughing. He begs his mother to not take him to the hospital, but she insists. She hurries him to the hospital where they discover that one of his lungs has collapsed. The news gets even worse when the doctors inform them that his cancer isn’t getting better, it’s getting worse. They give him, at most, ten months to live.

Zach soon realizes, after pondering the news, that whether he has ten days or ten months to live, he is going to make the most out of every moment. Throughout Zach’s progressing sickness, his family and friends gather around him and support him as much as they know how. His family tries to keep his home environment as normal as possible but not without giving Zach a few small things. 

For example, his father borrows a Nissan GT-R for Zach to drive for a week, but that’s not all. Mr. Weaver (Lil Rel Howery), one of Zach’s teachers, encourages Zach to explore his musical ambitions and helps him get started. Zach listens, and asks his best friend Sammy to write an album with him. They make a couple Youtube videos singing the songs they wrote, and “Clouds” quickly became a viral hit, leading to a recording contract and a concert performance. Fans enthusiastically sang along across the world with the chorus: “We’ll go up, up, up but I’ll fly a little higher, go up in the clouds because the view’s a little nicer.” The idea for these famous lyrics came to Zach when he was on an airplane, but the inspiration goes deeper than just looking out the window. The plane ride was a return from a visit to Lourdes in hope for a miracle to cure his terminal diagnosis. 

“Clouds” is the story of Zach Sobiech’s last months, his first love, his best friend, and the impact his music and diagnosis had on those around him. Zach was truly a gift and is a big inspiration to anyone who might take the time to sit down and watch this silver lining true story. To Zach, life was urgent and vital. For the rest of us, this film is a good reminder that we are never guaranteed tomorrow and that we should not wait to fly high above the clouds.